Turkey's Erdogan says plans 5% growth rate in 2020

FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters during a ceremony marking the third anniversary of the attempted coup at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, July 15, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo

Istanbul: President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would plan for economic growth of 5% in 2020, in comments which followed data on Monday showing the economy contracted 1.5% year-on-year in the second quarter.

Turkey's economy is looking to shake off a recession brought on by last year's currency crisis. The contraction in the second quarter was less than a 2% forecast in a Reuters poll, which also forecast zero growth this year as a whole.

"I am giving a growth level for 2020, we will focus on that. We will definitely plan a growth rate of 5%," Erdogan said in a speech on Wednesday evening.

The government's medium-term programme, announced a year ago, forecast economic growth of 2.3% this year and 3.5% in 2020. Previous growth forecasts had been 5.5% for both 2019 and 2020.

GDNonline.com is the GCC's most dynamic digital news source providing a selected mix of local, regional and international news and features to a readership across the Gulf countries and internationally. The website offers compelling and extensive content which includes local and regional input from The Gulf Daily News, the region's oldest daily newspaper. GDNonline provides the paper's readers with an extensive online edition adapted to be accessed on all available technological platforms.